Osjetljivost na antibiotike bakterije Staphylococcus pseudintermedius izdvojene iz pasa i mačaka u Hrvatskoj tijekom razdoblja od šest mjeseci.

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is part of the normal flora of dogs but is also commonly found as an opportunistic pathogen. Antimicrobial resistance in S. pseudintermedius is changing over time and is generally rising steadily for those antimicrobials that are frequently used. In this work, the susceptibility of 106 canine and feline isolates of S. pseudintermedius was determined by the disk diffusion method. Isolates were collected from various body sites of diseased dogs and cats during a six-month period in 2011. Most isolates were susceptible to amoxycillin/clavulanic acid, cephalexin, enrofloxacin and oxacillin (92.5%), followed by trimethoprimsulfamethoxazole (90.6%) and gentamicin (82.1%). Lower susceptibility was found for minocycline (67.0%), erythromycin, clindamycin and tetracycline (62.3%) and kanamycin (58.5%). Only 21.7% of the isolates were susceptible to ampicillin. Susceptibilities of isolates were compared from different isolation sites and from different temporal origins. The possible association of resistances to different antimicrobial agents is discussed.Bakterija Staphylococcus pseudintermedius dio je fiziološke mikroflore pasa, ali i čest uzročnik oportunističkih zaraza. Kod ove je bakterije primjetan trend porasta rezistencije na antimikrobne lijekove koji se učestalo koriste u liječenju pasa. U ovom radu istražena je osjetljivost na antimikrobne lijekove 106 izolata bakterije S. pseudintermedius izdvojenih iz pasa i mačaka. Osjetljivost je određena disk-difuzijskim postupkom. Izolati su potjecali od bolesnih pasa i mačaka i prikupljeni su u razdoblju od šest mjeseci tijekom godine 2011. Većina izolata bila je osjetljiva na amoksicilin s klavulanskom kiselinom, cefaleksin, enrofl oksacin i oksacilin (92,5%), sulfametoksazol s trimetoprimom (90,6%) i gentamicin (82,1%). Niži postotak osjetljivosti utvrđen je za minociklin (67,0%), eritromicin, klindamicin i tetraciklin (62,3%) te kanamicin (58,5%). Samo 21,7% izolata bilo je osjetljivo na ampicilin. U radu je uspoređena učestalost rezistencije između izolata izdvojenih s kože i iz zvukovoda, a istražene su i razlike u rezistenciji u odnosu na prijašnje istraživanje provedeno u Hrvatskoj. Raspravlja se i o mogućoj povezanosti između rezistencija na različite antimikrobne lijekove

In vitro aktivnost cefovecina, cefalosporina proširenoga spektra, protiv 284 klinička izolata izdvojena iz mačaka i pasa u Hrvatskoj.

During the six-month collection period, 284 bacterial strains were recovered from different clinical samples from cats and dogs. Susceptibility to cefovecin was determined by disk-diffusion method. Out of 284 bacterial isolates, 202 were gram-positive bacteria and 82 were gram-negative. The most frequently isolated bacterial species was gram-positive Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (152), followed by streptococci (50). The most common gram-negative bacteria were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (26), Proteus spp. (25) and E. coli (22). The highest resistance among gram-positive bacteria was observed in non-hemolytic streptococci (50%) and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (7.2%). Beta-hemolytic streptococci were 100% sensitive to cefovecin. As expected, cefovecin did not show any activity against P. aeruginosa. Besides that, the highest resistance was shown by E. coli (40.9%) and Proteus spp. (8%). All P. multocida isolates were sensitive to cefovecin. The results of the conducted survey show no significant differences of cefovecin activity against beta-hemolytic streptococci and P. multocida isolates from EU and USA compared to Croatian strains, when tested by the broth microdilution and disk-diffusion method. However, resistance rates in S. pseudintermedius, E. coli and Proteus spp. are much higher among the Croatian strains.Tijekom šestomjesečnog razdoblja 284 izolata bakterija izdvojena su iz različitih kliničkih uzoraka podrijetlom od pasa i mačaka. Osjetljivost sojeva na cefovecin određena je disk-difuzijskom metodom. Od 284 izolata 202 bila su gram-pozitivne, a 82 gram-negativne bakterije. Najzastupljenija je bila vrsta Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (152), a na drugom mjestu streptokoki (50). Najčešće gram-negativne vrste bile su Pseudomonas aeruginosa (26), Proteus spp. (25) i E. coli (22). Najviša stopa rezistencije među gram-pozitivnim bakterijama utvrđena je u nehemolitičkih streptokoka (50%) i u vrste Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (7,2%). Beta-hemolitički streptokoki bili su 100% osjetljivi na cefovecin. Kao što je bilo očekivano, cefovecin nije bio djelotvoran na vrstu P. aeruginosa. Vrlo visok postotak rezistentnih sojeva utvrđen je i kod vrsta E. Coli (40,9%) i Proteus spp. (8%). Svi izolati P. multocida bili su osjetljivi na cefovecin. Ovi rezultati u skladu su s onima dobivenim određivanjem osjetljivosti beta-hemolitičkih streptokoka i sojeva P. multocida podrijetlom iz SAD-a i Europske Unije mikrodilucijskom metodom. To se ne može reći za izolate S. pseudintermedius, E. Coli i Proteus spp., u kojih je utvrđen znatno viši postotak otpornih sojeva

THE GENETIC BASIS OF CHINCHILLAS\u27 COLOUR INHERITANCE

Činčila je južnoamerički glodavac koji se još uvijek većinom uzgaja radi krzna, iako se u pojedinim zemljama njihovo meso poslužuje kao specijalitet. U prirodi je gotovo iščeznula pa se njen opstanak održava farmskim uzgojem. Danas se uzgoj činčila za krzno zabranjuje u sve više zemalja, što je ustupilo mjesto uzgoju činčile kao kućnog ljubimca. Iznimno su čiste životinje te stoga i vrlo jednostavne za držanje i njegu. Vrlo su otporne te rijetko obolijevaju ukoliko se pravilno i redovito hrane, čiste i čuvaju u odgovarajućim uvjetima. Ovom glodavcu dlaka je izrazito meka i rastresita. Standardna boja je tamnosiva po leđima, dok je trbuh svijetlosiv do bijel. Dosadašnjim farmskim uzgojem selekcionirani su brojni mutanti tako da njihova dlaka može biti u različitim nijansama crne, bijele ili bež boje. Daljnjom kombinacijom tih mutanti dobivena je široka paleta danas postojećih boja krzna. Boja činčila ovisi o zastupljenosti pojedinih gena i njihovim kombinacijama, što je dovelo do pojave letalnih mutacija. Poznavajući genotip odgovoran za pojavu pojedine boje u ovih životinja, otvaraju nam se brojne mogućnosti u selekciji određenih boja kod potomaka. Na taj način zadovoljavaju se sve veće potrebe tržišta za činčilama kao kućnim ljubimcima pri čemu boja dlake ima značajnu ulogu kod njihova izbora.Chinchilla is a South American rodent, which is being bred primarily for its fur, although in some parts of the world their meat is served as a speciality. It is almost extinct in nature so its existence is being preserved by farm breeding. Breeding of chinchillas for fur is being banned in many countries all over the world, including Croatia, so chinchillas nowadays serve mostly as house pets. Chinchillas are very easy to keep at home because they are very clean animals. Also, they are very resistant to disease and rarely get ill if they are fed, cleaned and kept properly and regularly. This rodent has very soft and mealy fur. Standard colour is dark-grey on the back and light grey to white on the belly. Over the years, farm breeding has given us various mutant species so their fur colour can vary from black to white and beige. Further combining of these mutations created a whole pallet of today-existing colours in chinchillas. A chinchilla\u27s colour depends on its genes and various combinations, which led to emersion of lethal genes. By knowing the genotype responsible for specific colour variations in chinchillas, we have a whole spectre of possibilities in choosing the colour of offspring. By doing that, a growing demand for chinchillas as house pets on the market can be satisfied because the colour of the animal can play a huge role in choosing a house pet

Pojava i širenje meticilin-rezistentnih sojeva bakterije Staphylococcus pseudintermedius

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is the predominant coagulase-positive species in the normal flora of dogs and cats. It can be isolated from the nares, mouth, anus, groin and forehead of healthy dogs and cats. S. pseudintermedius is an opportunistic pathogen most frequently encountered in canine and feline skin and ear infections. Methicillin- resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) emerged in Brazil in the late nineties. Today, two different clones dominate in the population of dogs and cats. Dominant European clone ST71 appeared in Germany in 2005 and has rapidly spread around the world, while lineage ST68 dominates in North America. Both clones are multiresistant and present one of the biggest problems of antimicrobial resistance in the veterinary medicine. Besides all beta-lactam antimicrobials, they are typically resistant to aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, macrolides, lincosamides, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazol and in many cases to tetracycline and chloramphenicol. The treatment of MRSP infections is a new challenge in veterinary medicine because of the very limited therapeutic options. The multidrug-resistance pattern results in a potential pressure for veterinarians to use antimicrobials licensed in human medicine, such as vancomycin, mupirocin and rifampicin. This opens ethical questions because of the possible emergence of resistance to these antimicrobials. Although the zoonotic potential is much lower than for MRSA, veterinarians are at a higher risk for becoming colonized and should be aware of the zoonotic risk.Staphylococcus pseudintermedius najčešća je koagulaza-pozitivna vrsta stafilokoka u fiziološkoj mikroflori pasa i mačaka. Može se izdvojiti iz nosnica, usne šupljine, anusa i kože slabinskog i čeonog područja zdravih pasa i mačaka. Uvjetno je patogena bakterija i jedan od najčešćih uzročnika upala kože i zvukovoda. Meticilin-rezistentan Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) prvi je put izdvojen u Brazilu u kasnim devedesetima 20. stoljeća. Danas u populaciji pasa i mačaka prevladavaju dva klona. Dominantni europski klon ST71 pojavio se 2005. godine u Njemačkoj i brzo proširio po svijetu, dok klon ST78 prevladava u Sjevernoj Americi. Oba su klona višestruko rezistentna na antimikrobne lijekove i jedan su od najvećih problema rezistencije u veterinarskoj medicini. Izolati MRSP rezistentni su na sve beta-laktamske antibiotike, aminoglikozide, fluorokinolone, makrolide, linkozamide, kombinaciju sulfametoksazola i trimetoprima i većina na kloramfenikol i tetraciklin. Liječenje životinja inficiranih sojevima MRSP-a vrlo je zahtjevno zbog nedostatka djelotvornih antimikrobnih lijekova. Veterinari su često prisiljeni posegnuti za lijekovima registriranim isključivo za liječenje ljudi, primjerice vankomicinom, mupirocinom i rifampicinom, što otvara brojna etička pitanja zbog opasnosti razvoja rezistencije na te antibiotike. Opasnost od zaraze ljudi sojevima MRSP-a općenito je manja u usporedbi s MRSA-om. Veterinari su zbog rada sa životinjama pod povećanim rizikom i trebaju biti svjesni da postoji mogućnost kolonizacije nosnica takvim sojevima

Younger facial looks are associate with a lower likelihood of several age-related morbidities in the middle-aged to elderly

BACKGROUND: Looking older for one's chronological age is associated with a higher mortality rate. Yet it remains unclear how perceived facial age relates to morbidity and the degree to which facial ageing reflects systemic ageing of the human body. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between ΔPA and age-related morbidities of different organ systems, where ΔPA represents the difference between perceived age (PA) and chronological age. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional analysis on data from the Rotterdam Study, a population-based cohort study in the Netherlands. High-resolution facial photographs of 2679 men and women aged 51.5-87.8 years of European descent were used to assess PA. PA was estimated and scored in 5-year categories using these photographs by a panel of men and women who were blinded for chronological age and medical history. A linear mixed model was used to generate the mean PAs. The difference between the mean PA and chronological age was calculated (ΔPA), where a higher (positive) ΔPA means that the person looks younger for their age and a lower (negative) ΔPA that the person looks older. ΔPA was tested as a continuous variable for association with ageing-related morbidities including cardiovascular, pulmonary, ophthalmological, neurocognitive, renal, skeletal and auditory morbidities in separate regression analyses, adjusted for age and sex (model 1) and additionally for body mass index, smoking and sun exposure (model 2). RESULTS: We observed 5-year higher ΔPA (i.e. looking younger by 5 years for one's age) to be associated with less osteoporosis [odds ratio (OR) 0.76, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.62-0.93], less chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.77-0.95), less age-related hearing loss (model 2; B = -0.76, 95% CI -1.35 to -0.17) and fewer cataracts (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.73-0.97), but with better global cognitive functioning (g-factor; model 2; B = 0.07, 95% CI 0.04-0.10). CONCLUSIONS: PA is associated with multiple morbidities and better cognitive function, suggesting that systemic ageing and cognitive ageing are, to an extent, externally visible in the human face